Christy Ring and Gaelic football: An accidental if eventful, relationship

Ring scored two goals on his St Nicks debut after showing up among the crowd. On Friday evening June 18, 1948, St Nicholas faced UCC in the second round of the City Division Junior Football Championship at Douglas. St Nicks brought the bare 15 players to the game and trailed the College side by 4-1 […]

Christy Ring and Glen Rovers

The Irish Examiner published a 24-page supplement to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the greatest hurler of all time, Christy Ring. I was asked to contribute this piece on Christy Ring and Glen Rovers. Christy Ring was born in Cloyne, County Cork in 1920. He played with his home club, Cloyne until […]

JACK LYNCH RAISED SPORTING FLAGS AND HORIZONS OF MANY

In a boy’s world of the 1920s, be it Shandon Street or anywhere in the world, money was not the main currency; athletic ability was. The boy who could run the fastest, climb the highest or puck the sliotar furthest, was king.

Jack Lynch could do all of these. His prowess was partly due to his natural athletic ability, partly due to the regular meals – which a regular wage provides, partly due to his home environment and partly due to the education provided by the nuns of St Vincents and the Christian Brothers of the North Monastery.

Lessons from the All-Ireland Football Final

Because life is a cycle, the Sunday Game programme had hardly finished last Sunday night when the thoughts of the majority of the viewers were all ready concerned with the most enduring of all GAA questions; who’s going to win the All-Ireland next year? In life’s cycles there are more followers than leaders, therefore the […]

A Brief History of Donegal

As we head towards next Sunday’s All-Ireland football final it struck me that very little is known in this part of the country about Donegal, and Donegal football. Cork people have strong opinions about other counties. In most conversations concerning the inter-county affairs of the GAA it is quite normal to hear phrases like “That’s […]